


Miraculous Mysteries

by sunshines_stories



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-27
Updated: 2016-06-28
Packaged: 2018-07-18 15:07:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7320157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshines_stories/pseuds/sunshines_stories
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette tends to make mistakes. A lot. But sometimes these mistakes build themselves up into something much better than she could've ever managed on purpose. Quick summary: the love square gets even more complicated, you're welcome. Also, lots of fluff!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Ladybug clutched the lamppost, gasping for air, her legs shaking underneath her, barely able to hold up her own weight. Chat Noir touched her shoulder and she shrugged him off without thinking. Ladybug would've been drenched in sweat if not for her skin-tight outfit having the magical abilities that it did to hide it. But even then, nothing could mask the fact that she was dead tired and about to change back.

Chat Noir looked at her expectantly. "My lady?" he asked, raising a single eyebrow.

She couldn't seem to make words escape her lips, and Chat couldn't really blame her; she'd just ran nearly a mile after losing her yo-yo and then proceeded to fly around like an acrobat, fighting the most recently akumatized villain, their school principal. Who knew Chloe could get him pissed off enough to invite Le Papillon to use him as a puppet? Okay, well, everyone knew Chloe was capable of that with anyone and everyone, but they pretended it wasn't always her fault (even though it most definitely was all because of her).

Finally, Ladybug was able to breathe well enough to say a single word: "Leave."

Chat frowned. "Are you sure you don't need help? You look exhausted."

Louder, she repeated, "Chat, leave." Chat held up his clawed hands. "As you wish." He smiled at her once more, patting her on the back. "Bien joue, Ladybug." With that, he scaled a nearby building and disappeared within seconds.

Ladybug stumbled into the nearest building. Only a few seconds left until she changed back. She looked around, trying to get a sense of her surroundings. She was in an empty restaurant. She vaguely remembered ordering everyone to get out before they'd get hurt by the villain. It didn't matter, there was no one now, and that was the only thing that she cared about.

Tiki collapsed on the floor at almost the same time as Marinette fell.

"Goodness, Tiki," Marinette huffed. "Why was that so difficult?"

"I don't know," Tiki breathed. "I'm just glad that it's all over."

Marinette sat up, feeling her head spin as she reached for her phone. Her father was probably worried sick by now. In a daze, she typed in a bunch of numbers that she assumed would get her texts to her father.

_MDC: Sorry im gonna be late, i love u, and i promise ill be there soon! i blame that girl i told u about for this <3_

She didn't expect him to reply right away. After all, he wasn't exactly known for typing very fast with those thick fingers of his.

That's why she was so surprised when the reply came as she was getting to her feet that she almost fell back down.

_AA: i love you too random stranger. by the way, you may have the wrong number._

Marinette let out a little gasp and held her phone away at arm's length. "Did I just text someone random that I love them?" Tiki giggled softly and Marinette shot her a harsh look, shutting her up.

"Just tell them you're sorry and move on, you don't need to be so worried about it!" Tiki said in her signature squeak.

Marinette nodded, deciding to follow her advice, but before she could begin formulating the words to type, another response popped onto her screen, making her let out a yelp and fumble her phone onto the floor.

_AA: but i'd love to be filled in on the gossip about this girl and what she's being blamed for :D_

_MDC: I dont know if u really care to know..._

_AA: oh come on, the drama of a stranger? what could be cooler?? Marinette couldn't help but snicker a little bit._

_MDC: But what about the whole "Stranger Danger" bit? Cant be revealing private information to someone completely unknown to me, can i?_

_AA: that's fair... but i don't really ever get to talk to anyone and i thought i finally had someone i could talk to..._

Marinette could almost see eyes like Manon's begging her to continue the conversation. Tiki shook her head furiously off to the side, but Marinette was too distracted to even bother to pay attention to her.

_MDC: Ok, fine_

_MDC: But im setting some ground rules_

_MDC: For safety._

_AA: yay!!!_

_AA: i know your rules will rule :D_

_MDC: Did u just..._

_AA: :D_

_MDC: -_-_

_MDC: So, here are the rules: we cant say anything thatll let the other know about who the other is, or where the other is. So no names, and no places._

_AA: that's not so bad, i can work with that. now, what's up with that girl? need someone to fight her?_

_MDC: Ha! If only!_

_MDC: This girl, oh god this girl, she drives me insane!_

_AA: still waiting on them juicy details, hon._

_MDC: Ok so first of all, she keeps acting like my crush is her boyfriend and then treating me like complete garbage as if i dont even exist and makes problems for me and for everyone and UGH it just makes me want to rip her apart!!!!_

_AA: wow._

_AA: you have quite some pent-up anger in there._

_MDC: I HAVE BARELY BEGUN_

_AA: ohohohokay well, i've got a class i've gotta go to, but do tell me if this chick pulls something else, because i wanna be there to film you ripping her apart._

_MDC: Well u cant be there bc of the rules, remember?_

_AA: oh right, those stupid things. :P_

_AA: nice talking to you mystery monsieur._

_AA: or madame!_

_AA: or mademoiselle!_

_AA: whatever you prefer!_

_MDC: Mademoiselle_

_MDC: Crap did i just break my own rules_

_AA: heheh, okay, how about, to make it even i'll tell you i'm a monsieur._

_MDC: Ok... bonne nuit mystery monsieur :)_

_AA: :)_

Marinette looked down at the small green smiley face. This was so weird. But also weirdly fun. She'd never done something like this before. Talking to people in real life was hard enough, which was probably why Alya was really her only friend. Maybe talking to this Mystery Monsieur would make her understand how to interact with people better?

"Marinette..." Tiki said softly. "Did you forget about your dad and the macaroons he needed your help making?"

Marinette's eyes widened. "Crap!"

While Marinette sprinted out of the empty restaurant and barrelled into the streets of Paris, Adrien Agreste was putting on his fencing gear, his eyes constantly flicking back to the black screen of his phone, waiting for another text from the Mystery Mademoiselle.


	2. Chapter 2

Adrien was practically glued to his phone and Nathalie couldn't help but notice. She tried to sneak a glance at his phone every few seconds, but the boy had gotten good at hiding it. He was not going to let anything get in the way of a budding friendship. Considering the fact that Nino was his only friend, and one that he was barely able to see thanks to his dad, Adrien was just itching to talk to people.

_AA: bonjour mystery mademoiselle._

_MDC: Bonjour to u too mystery monsieur_

_MDC: I wasnt sure if i should text first..._

_AA: well of course you can, i'm just not the best at replying thanks to all the crazy classes and stuff going on in my life._

_MDC: Yeah, i wanted to ask, what kind of classes do u keep going to?_

_AA: not sure if this is breaking a rule, but sure, i went fencing, one of the very many classes my dad's got me in._

_MDC: Ok so i may not be the best at interpreting emotions irl let alone through text, and correct me if im wrong, but it feels like theres some animosity between u and ur dad..._

_AA: honestly my dad just drives me insane sometimes, i guess he's like my version of that girl that you mentioned._

_MDC: What does he do?_

_AA: he makes me act like the perfect child all the time, and honestly, i can't keep up with the crazy expectations he has of me and then he refuses to acknowledge when i'm doing something right like oh, i don't know, excelling in every single stupid class he signs me up for???_

_AA: you know, he didn't even let me go to school for the longest time because he wanted "to protect me"._

_MDC: God, that sounds terrible_

_MDC: Want me to kick his butt?_

_AA: no, i mean, he's still my father. and it's not like i've got a mother to take care of me either._

_MDC: Oh no, im so sorry_

_MDC: Can i ask?_

_AA: what happened to her?_

_AA: yeah_

_AA: she left a while ago_

_MDC: So she isnt...?_

_AA: dead? no._

_AA: well i don't even know at this point, she could be anywhere in any condition, and i'd have no idea._

_MDC: Im so sorry_

_AA: it's fine._

_AA: thanks for letting me have my turn to rant :)_

_MDC: Thats what im here for, i guess! :)_

Adrien sighed, staring into the phone. It was a nice feeling, being able to talk to someone so freely and without any hesitation. Even Nino wasn't this easy to talk to, and he was his best friend! His thoughts were interrupted by a menacing rumble from the ground below his feet.

_MDC: Theres something happening. The grounds shaking..._

_AA: crap, i feel it too._

_AA: i think hiding is probably a good idea. stuff like this happens in paris all the time, just gotta wait for ladybug and chat noir to show up._

_MDC: U werent supposed to say paris!_

_AA: oops._

_MDC: Oh screw it, theres bigger problems right now_

_AA: okay i don't know about you but i think i see some kid flying around so i'm gonna go ahead and wait for chat noir._

_MDC: And ladybug, dont forget her_

_AA: well duh shes just unforgettable._

_MDC: Talk to u in a bit :)_

_AA: au revoir mystery mademoiselle :)_

Adrien got into position with his hand in front of his face and body bent. "Plagg! Transformez-moi!" He went through the entire transformation, twisting his limbs this way and that, so that to an outsider, the whole thing may have seemed like some sort of anime girl transformation sequence. Chat Noir stood where Adrien Agreste had been seconds ago. Chat opened the window to his room and climbed up onto the roof effortlessly.

His bright green eyes scanned over the skyline of Paris, looking for the flying figure of a young girl that he'd seen merely moments ago. A flash of pink followed by a bright flash of red caught his eyes. Getting down on all fours, he moved like a wild cat, streaking across the rooftops of Paris. To the people of Paris down below, he was nothing more than a black blur with a tail. The wind whipped Chat's already messy blonde mop of hair into a wild tangled heap of hair. In the distance, he could hear Ladybug's voice, and he couldn't help the way his heart fluttered at the sound of it. Goodness gracious did he love that girl. It still drove him crazy that he didn't know who she really was, but that was okay with him as long as he got to spend time like this with her when neither of them were about to die.

"Ow! Chat, hurry!"

She never asked for him. She was about to die. Chat threw himself ahead, closing the distance between himself and the two girls. One he recognized, with bloody cuts on her face and all over her body. Ladybug was on her hands and knees, her breathing shallow, and her costume torn. Blood dripped from her, barely visible amongst the red of her outfit.

"Now," an unfamiliar voice said, smug and girly. "Are you ready to hand over those earrings?"

The voice came from a girl that looked to be about their age. She wore a delicate pink bow in her light brown hair, and her dress, what seemed to be a southern belle dress, was decorated with an endless supply of the same pink bows. It was only when she moved that he realized that every bow was lined with a razor-sharp blade, each glinting in the sunlight. She plucked one off of her dress with a grin stretching across her face turning her from cute to unnerving to terrifying.

Chat instinctively took a step back.

"Oh, is Chat Noir here to save his lady?" the girl asked mockingly. "Is he going to save the day and leave unscathed as he somehow always manages?"

Chat pointed the end of his staff at her face. "Why are you doing this?"

The girl narrowed her eyes. "It's nothing personal for you. Chloe was the one that said he'd never love me. Chloe was the one that said he'd choose her over me any day. Chloe was the one that said he wasn't worthy of her but I wasn't worthy of him."

"What did Papillon promise you?" Before Chat could make a move to attack, she flicked her wrist and a bow sliced its way through the side of Chat's calf. Chat let out a groan as blood poured out of his leg and he fell, using the staff to keep himself from rolling off the roof. He forced himself to get back on his feet, even as his head spun and bile forced its way up his throat.

"God, I know Chloe," Ladybug sighed. She had gotten to her feet at some point. "She definitely sucks."

The girl rolled her eyes, holding up another bow threateningly. "Are you going to give me your Miraculous or what?"

"' _What_ ' sounds like a good plan," Ladybug nodded.

"I agree, we've got better things to do right _meow_ ," Chat Noir said with a grin.

Ladybug winced at the pun, but refused to take her eyes off of the villain as she shouted, "Lucky Charm!" Within moments, a small bow landed in her hands, the same size and shape as the ones on the villain's dress, but red and black and, something only Ladybug could tell: it didn't have the blades.

Ladybug mimicked the villain's stance, holding the bow as if she were ready to throw it as well. "Anything left to say?"

"That's one bow against my hundreds," the villain scoffed, but Chat could see the flash of fear in her eyes when Ladybug drew her arm back to throw it. Her eyes locked onto the bow, ready to protect herself.

As soon as her gaze was off of Ladybug and Chat, the two jumped at her. Chat went first, throwing his arms around her legs which made it easier for Ladybug to tackle the girl to the ground. Her fingers wrapped around the bow holding the villain's hair behind her eyes and she ripped it out, enticing shrieks of pain and anger from the girl. Ladybug stood up triumphantly and tore the bow in half. A black butterfly flew up from the pieces and she quickly captured the akuma and released it.

"Bye bye petit papillon," she said with a soft smile that brought a smile to Chat's face as well. "Miraculous Ladybug!" she shouted, throwing her polka-dotted hair bow in the air. A flurry of her magical ladybugs flew through the sky, fixing everything that'd been changed. The bleeding wound in Chat's leg returned to normal, the cuts in Ladybug's outfit went back to looking brand-new, and the villain's bright pink, hair-bow costume went back to an average looking pair of turquoise shorts and a white t-shirt, with the words "Cool Dude" written on it.

"Amanda?" Ladybug and Chat Noir said in unison.

"She's a year above m- I mean- Chloe, isn't she?" Chat asked. "How'd she know her?"

"Yeah she is," Ladybug said. "Betcha Chloe can screw up a life even by just talking to a person once."

"Where am I?" Amanda stirred. Her eyes widened. "Oh god, where's Dylan, did he see me like this?"

Chat's fist met Ladybug's. "Bien joue," the two chuckled.

"Gotta go," Ladybug said, hearing the Miraculous give its warning beeps. "See you soon, kitty."

"And I'll be seeing you too, my lady." When Chat returned to his room, it was as Adrien. His phone was right where he'd left it, except now two messages lit up his screen.

_MDC: Its over_

_MDC: Are u ok?_

Adrien picked up his phone. His fingers floated over the keys for a few moments before he responded.

_AA: yeah, the girl gave me a nasty couple of cuts at first before she saw Ladybug, but that stuff ladybug does fixed it all up. although i gotta admit, that was scary._

_AA: i'm just glad i was with someone i love to keep me safe._

_MDC: Im just glad ur ok_

_MDC: I may not know u irl but i feel like i do_

_MDC: If u got hurt... idk what id do_

_AA: awww you care so much for me? how cute!! :D_

_MDC: Oh shut up, dont ruin the moment_

Adrien paused. This was gonna be stupid on his part, and he knew it. He pressed "send" anyways.

_AA: <3_

He held his breath, waiting anxiously for a response. What if she thought he was being creepy or weird? What if she just stopped replying altogether? What if she hated him? All those thoughts muddled together into a huge ball of self-hatred and anxiety until his phone buzzed one more time. He couldn't have been happier with the reply he got:

_MDC: <3_


	3. Chapter 3

The weekend was over and so was the time to keep the mysteries just between the two of them. Plus, Alya noticed something was up the second that Marinette walked into the class with her phone inches from her face.

"You don't even text me like that," Alya commented, seeing the long back and forth Marinette had with this person. "Who is that?"

"I can't tell you," Marinette said as blood rushed to her face.

"Oh, girl, you are turning as red as my hair," Alya laughed. "You have got to fill me in now!"

"No I'm not!" Marinette said a little bit too fast and a little bit too loud. Rose and Juleka's conversation in the back of the class stopped to stare at her. Marinette waved her hand nervously to tell them that it was nothing and they shrugged and engrossed themselves in whatever they'd been talking about previously.

"Tell meeeee," Alya whined. Marinette couldn't help but feel like she was imitating Manon now, by elongating her words and using those huge eyes of hers to get her to speak.

"Oh fine," Marinette sighed. "It's a boy."

"A boy!" Alya squealed.

"Yes, a boy, shush," she whispered. "Don't tell the whole world."

"Okay, okay, okay," Alya said, taking a deep breath. "But I need to know every single detail. How'd you meet him? What's his name? What does he look like? Is he better than Adrien?"

"Okay, first of all," Marinette said putting up a finger to shut her best friend up. "No one is better than Adrien. But at least I can talk to this guy more than I'm capable of talking to Adrien."

"Well, just tell me, what's his name?" Alya was persistent.

"See, that's the complicated part," she said hesitantly. "I don't know. We don't know each other because I accidentally texted him, and for safety, we can't know who the other is."

Alya's mouth hung open. "Mari, what the heck."

Marinette dropped her head into her hands. "I know, I feel bad about how nice it feels to talk to him."

"No," Alya said. "Girl, that is the bravest thing I have ever seen you do."

"Really?" Marinette grinned, thinking of the hundreds of times she'd swung around Paris with a yo-yo and a cat.

"Yeah!" Alya kicked her feet up onto her desk. "And who knows, maybe this mystery monsieur will get your mind off of that one." As she said it, she pointed her chin at the blonde boy walking in.

"Oh my god I almost forgot about Adrien!" Marinette squeaked, considering if she should dive under her desk or run out or just pass out right then and there. Instead of choosing any of those options, she froze and stared straight ahead, her eyes wide with panic and a terrifying smile plastered onto her face.

Adrien walked up to his seat and his sparkling green eyes landed on her. "Oh, uh, hi Marinette. Marinette?" He waved his hand in front of her face, making her jump with surprise.

"Hi Alien! I mean, Arden. I mean, Adrien! Sorry..."

Alya looked at her best friend with a sort of exhausted love. "God, what a dork," she sighed, crossing her arms.

Adrien chuckled, making Marinette turn as bright as her Ladybug costume. He took his seat next to Nino and began whispering something that Marinette and Alya strained to hear but couldn't make out. But Nino could hear every part of it, and his eyes grew wider with every word that came out of Adrien's mouth.

"A mystery girl?" Nino whispered excitedly. "Dude, that's awesome!"

"Shh," Adrien said, a smile making its way across his face. "Yeah, all I know about her is that she's in Paris as well, and that she's dealt with some terrible girl and she just seems really... what's the word?"

"Weird? Crazy? Eccentric? Psycho?" Nino offered.

"No..." Adrien's eyes lit up. "Cute."

"Are you in looooooove?" Nino teased, poking him in the side.

"I haven't even met her, shut up," Adrien muttered, his eyes averted, hoping Nino wouldn't see the embarrassment in his eyes. "But wow, I'd love to know her better."

"Then do it," Nino said. "You've got her number. That's further than you've gotten with any girl." The last comment granted him a playful shove from Adrien, bringing out bubbly laughter between the two of them as Marinette lost herself in staring at him from behind them.

"You know," Alya said, sliding closer to her table partner, her voice surprising Marinette. "You could, oh, I don't know, speak to him?"

"You know, I'd rather not!" Marinette responded in a high squeak. She cleared her throat and tried again in a ridiculously deep voice: "Class is starting."

Fortunately for her, she was right. Madame Bustier strolled in just as soon as the words left her mouth. Unfortunately, that was the only time she paid any attention to Madame that day, as her mind continued to wander off into daydreams of that Mystery Monsieur. Oh, how she wished she could talk to him again. But she couldn't pull her phone out in class, she'd get in so much trouble! The frustration tore Marinette up from the inside, so much that she didn't even notice the way Adrien was twitching in his seat, his hands repeatedly going towards his phone, waiting for a buzz or a sign that the Mystery Mademoiselle wanted to talk to him.

As soon as the final bell rung, Adrien was the first one out the door, and Marinette watched him leave with a slight sadness.

"Seems like he was dying to get away from this," Marinette sighed, gesturing to herself. Alya put a comforting arm around her shoulder, but it didn't last long, because Marinette's phone buzzed violently in her pocket, making her jump up and scaring Alya into letting out a short scream.

"He texted!"

"Adrien?" Alya asked, confused.

"The Mystery Monsieur!" Marinette squealed, correcting her.

_AA: i wasn't sure if i should text first or if i should wait for you to text first or what_

_AA: sorry i'm not very good at this whole texting thing_

Marinette jumped up and down while Alya read the texts. "Girl," Alya said. "Are you just gonna leave him hanging?"

"No!" Marinette said, her voice high. "I just wish I knew the right words to say."

"Oh, just talk to him like you talk to me."

She thought for a second before her fingers flew across the keys.

_MDC: As glad as i am u texted first, why didnt u wanna text me first?_

_AA: because i'm awkward and i don't wanna seem desperate._

_AA: oh god that sounds desperate._

_MDC: U dont sound desperate come on_

_MDC: U actually sound pretty darn cute_

Marinette's eyes widened and Alya's lit up. "Oh god, did I really just say that?" she whispered, horrified at her own words that bore into her eyes. Luckily, the Mystery Monsieur just outside the classroom door, hunched over his phone with a smile spreading across his face didn't seem to mind so much.

_AA: out of the two of us i'd say you're the cute one._

When he heard the squeals of excitement from inside the class he'd just left, he didn't realize it was because of the simple sentence he'd just sent to someone he figured could've been on the other side of Paris for all he knew. Adrien didn't stop for a second to think that the Mystery Mademoiselle could've been sitting behind him all day.


	4. Chapter 4

**** Marinette began her walk home with Alya following close behind her, constantly peeking at the text bubbles on her phone and giving suggestions, most of which Marinette ignored without a second thought. Adrien barely looked up from his phone when Marinette passed by him. She didn't take it personally; she was engrossed in her own phone as well.

_ AA: i hope your day's been more eventful than mine _

_ MDC: Pffft nah _

_ MDC: Ive been up to basically nothing all day _

_ MDC: Just sat in class at stared at a kids head _

_ AA: but was it at least a pretty head? _

_ MDC: Hehehe oh yeah _

_ MDC: His head is probably my favorite head _

_ AA: is this the mysterious crush of the mystery mademoiselle i've heard about? _

_ MDC: Maybeeeee _

_ AA: wanna tell me about him? _

By now Adrien was sitting in the car with dark windows his father insisted he take to and from school while Marinette and Alya were almost halfway to Marinette's house.

Alya, seeing this last text frowned. "Dunno if it's the best idea to tell your new crush about another crush."

"I never said he was my crush!" Marinette said indignantly. A little bit too indignantly, according to Alya, as she pointed out how Marinette was blushing furiously. "And anyways, it's not like he likes me, so it won't matter."

In the car, Adrien felt almost upset as he waited for a description of Mystery Mademoiselle's crush. He couldn't seem to explain why he felt what he did. After all, he was the one that had asked about this boy in the first place, right? And he loved someone already, right? Ladybug was his love. Then why did even the idea of Mystery Mademoiselle's crush upset him so much?

_ MDC: Do u really care? _

_ AA: well if it's about your life, then yeah! _

_ MDC: Why are u so sweet to me omg _

_ AA: :D _

_ MDC: Well, this boy, hes a cute guy, but way out of my league so ive basically given up _

_ AA: well, what about him do you like? _

_ MDC: Omg basically everything _

_ MDC: His swoopy light hair and bright eyes and even the way he moves is just sooooo mesmerizing _

Alya bid her goodbye at her door and left to her own home as Marinette pushed her way in. She barely noticed her parents greet her, but she did manage a mumbled response all while glued to her phone screen, not looking up once all the way to her bed. She threw herself down on the bed, facing the ceiling and holding her phone up above her head. 

Marinette waited impatiently for a response, not realizing that Adrien was staring at his phone with a blank expression on the outside and a heart that was starting to crack on the inside, making it impossible for him to formulate a response. Finally, after a few moments of silence, she tried to continue the conversation:

_ MDC: What about u? Any cutie u got ur eyes on? _

_ AA: hehe yeah _

_ MDC: Aaaaaaand? _

_ AA: and she's way out of my league too _

_ AA: i should give up soon too, huh? _

_ MDC: Noooooo u gotta hold out _

_ MDC: Its for true love! _

_ AA: you've got a pretty positive outlook on this, calling it true love and everything when you don't even know anything about her. _

_ MDC: Well then what are u waiting for?? Tell me about her _

Marinette held her breath, somewhere in the back of her mind, hoping for him to describe a girl like herself for some reason. Her logical mind told her that'd be impossible; he didn't even know who she was and he'd only known her for less than a week. Still she felt that ache for someone that loved her because she knew Adrien would never love her back like she loved him. It wouldn't hurt to have someone else loving her, whether or not she knew him in person.

_ AA: she's beautiful, she's smart, she's talented, and she's graceful. her entire being is one of perfection. _

_ MDC: Quite the poet u are _

_ MDC: U should tell her u love her _

_ AA: well, are you going to tell yours that you love him? _

_ MDC: Oh heck no _

_ AA: why not? _

_ MDC: Bc im so awkward and nervous and he probably thinks im scared of him bc of the way i act around him and omg yeah no just a bad idea in general _

_ AA: yeah, and i won't tell her until you tell him. _

_ MDC: Oh come on that aint fair _

_ AA: you ain't fair. _

_ AA: ... _

_ AA: that didn't make any sense. _

_ MDC: No not really _

Marinette stood up suddenly when the sound of a screech echoed from the streets right outside of her home. "What was that?" she asked no one in particular. Tikki took that as her cue.

"Le Papillon's back at it, I guess," Tikki sighed. "Which means we've got to get back to work."

Marinette moved into the center of the room, not noticing the texts that were lighting up her phone frantically. "Tikki! Transformez-moi!"

Seconds later, she stood tall, her body-hugging red and black suit on, and nothing but a simple mask hiding her identity from the world. Ladybug leapt out the window of her room, using her yo-yo to latch onto the chimney of a building across the street. She swung up to the roof of that building and crouched down, searching for the source of the scream. Her bright blue eyes scanned the sidewalks and the roads until she landed on a single large figure mostly hidden in the darkness of an alleyway.

"It's the Mayor!" Ladybug gasped. "What happened?"

To anyone else, he was difficult to recognize as the Mayor anymore, with his eyes as purple as the Akuma's wings and the majority of his face and body covered by a dark black-purple cloud that surrounded him, floating just barely off of the ground. His booming voice could be heard from where Ladybug watched.

"I am the best father to my baby girl!" he roared. "She will never be upset as long as I am around, and no one will ever do anything to harm her in any way!"

"Ladybug!"

The voice was so familiar it caught Ladybug off guard at first. Of course she knew that voice, she built entire fantasies off of it in her mind before falling asleep every night. Ladybug froze when she saw Adrien held in a shadowy hand. His arms were pinned to his sides and his face seemed to be turning blue as the hand closed on him.

"Adrien!" Ladybug cried. She jumped off the side of the building, landing nimbly on the sidewalk, only a few feet away from the Mayor. Multiple shadow arms emerged from his cloud of darkness around him. They latched onto anyone and everyone nearby, pulling them, swallowing them into the cloud. Ladybug could only see the fear in Adrien's eyes as the cloud closed in on him and he disappeared from sight.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ack! I'm so sorry this has taken so long to post, I've been out of the country and away from my fluffy fic for too long, but I'm back and so are these nerds! Hopefully I should be able to keep up with at least one chapter a week if not every day, but let's see how it goes from here. Thanks for reading!!!

"Ladybug!" the Mayor said in his loud, unmistakable voice. "Finally!" He cocked his head to the side as if listening to something Ladybug couldn't hear. "I will be needing those earrings, Ladybug," he said, almost politely.

Ladybug scowled. "You're gonna have to come get them."

The Mayor didn't even have to think before a shadow arm shot out at Ladybug. She flipped backwards, barely avoiding its grasp. Almost as soon as she was back on her feet, two more came in from opposite directions, closing in on her. She ducked, rolling out of the way and barrelling forwards rather than away from the enemy.

Sprinting straight towards the Mayor, she could feel how bad of an idea this was, but she did it anyways. As soon as she was close enough to feel the cloud beginning to reach forward to grab her, Ladybug dropped to the ground and skidded under the cloud and jumped up so that she was inside the cloud, finding herself surrounded by a hazy darkness. She groped around, searching for any of the dozens of people she'd just seen lose themselves in there.

"This doesn't make any sense," Ladybug thought aloud. "There isn't enough space for half the people he took in, but I can't see anyone here!"

"Marinette!" Adrien's voice came through the mist. Ladybug's eyes widened as she let loose a string of curses under her breath. "Marinette, did he get you?"

"Adrien?" Ladybug said hesitantly. "Adrien, can you see anything?"

"No," he replied. "This fog or whatever is a lot bigger than it looks like from the outside." 

"Can you follow the sound of my voice?"

A chorus of voices answered, "Yes!" Ladybug had almost forgotten that there were more people than just Adrien trapped in this mist.

"Okay, I just need you all to converge in the place where you hear me." As soon as she heard the shuffling of footsteps moving quickly towards her, Ladybug dropped to the ground, landing on her stomach. She was out of the cloud.

She chalked it up to being because of the fact that she had jumped up  _ into  _ the cloud from underneath whereas everyone else had been dragged in. Her feet had remained on the ground throughout the whole thing, and she was the only one still connected to the Earth outside of the cloud.

She hugged the floor there for a few moments while the Mayor continued to walk on, leaving her behind, still laying flat on the road. When the Mayor was a few feet past her, she stood up her eyes still adjusting to the sudden brightness of Paris in the daytime after having been in the darkness of the shadow.

The Mayor was walking away from her, snatching people up in hands of darkness left and right. The screams filled the air.

Ladybug frowned. She had no idea what in the world she could do to stop him. She didn't even know where the Akuma was! And worst of all, Chat had yet to show up.

Inside the shadow cloud, Adrien was struggling to make the decision of whether or not to transform in there. He hadn't moved towards Marinette, even though everyone else seemed to be going towards her. Instead, he'd gone the exact opposite direction.

"Hello?" he called, testing the waters. When he recieved no response Adrien got into the transformation position. "Plagg! Transformez-moi!"

After a few stretches and dance-like moves, Chat Noir straightened himself up and turned his head side to side, cracking his neck.

"I feel like this one might be  _ purrticularly _ difficult," Chat said with a smile that faded away when he didn't hear Ladybug's groan at his joke. He needed to get out and get to her. She would be needing him.

Chat Noir turned and ran back to where he'd heard Marinette's voice. It didn't take long before he heard the nervous chatter of the crowd of people that'd been brought over there by the sound of Marinette's voice. He pumped his legs faster until he almost ran into someone he barely recognized.

"So sorry!" Chat exclaimed.

"Wait, is that Chat Noir?" someone inquired from a little ways off. "Oh my, Chat Noir's here! We're going to be alright, everyone!"

Chat Noir could now see a crowd of men and women forcing their way towards him to get a look at him. "Hey now, there's more important things to deal with right now than seeing a celebrity." He looked around. He could've sworn he'd heard Marinette, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Is this everyone the Mayor put in here?"

"It feels like half of Paris," a man scoffed. "So, yeah, probably."

"Why is this happening to us?" a meek voice asked.

The man that'd spoken last laughed bitterly. "Didn't the Mayor tell you? Apparently, each and every one of us has personally hurt his little precious daughter, Chloe." He said the last bit mockingly, as if he hated her more than anything in the world. Chat couldn't help but think to himself that Chloe was all of Paris' version of that girl that drove Mystery Mademoiselle up the wall.

"How are you going to get us out of here, Chat Noir?" a boy asked.

Chat frowned. "I gotta think about that."

The roar of chatter overwhelmed Chat's senses, making it impossible for him to even start to come up with a plan on how to get out. Meanwhile, on the outside, Ladybug wasn't doing too well either.

Ladybug jumped up onto the roof of the nearest building silently, making sure the Mayor wasn't alerted of her presence. He kept plucking people seemingly randomly off the sidewalks, pulling them out of windows, dragging them through the streets. All of them were enveloped in the cloud and disappeared without a trace. 

It was time to use it, she knew. With an extravagant flourish, she threw up her yo-yo and cried out, "Lucky Charm!" A bright flash of light blinded her momentarily before a large, bulky object landed in her arms, nearly knocking her down to the ground. "A fire extinguisher?" Ladybug was almost entirely certain that there was no fire nearby.

But there was the cloud.

Ladybug cradled the fire extinguisher as she leapt down from the building, landing nimbly and breaking into a sprint without hesitation. The sound of her landing and her running attracted the Mayor's attention and he whirled around to face her. A cloudy hand formed and moved towards Ladybug.

Ladybug ripped the pin out of the extinguisher and without aiming, squeezed the lever as tightly as she could. She was almost pushed back from the sudden burst of the lightweight foam that tore through the shadow hand, dispersing it into the atmosphere. Ladybug moved forward, aiming all of it at the Mayor and the shadow surrounding it. It didn't take long for the extinguisher to putter out.

Once the combination of the air and foam cleared, the entire city could see the Mayor covered in fire extinguisher foam and all of the people he had grabbed out of it lying on the ground in a pile, similarly drenched in the whiteness.

"You can have my cloud, but I'll have my revenge on everyone that hurt my daughter!" the Mayor roared.

"No, you won't!" Chat yelled, jumping out of the pile of people. "Cat-aclysm!" His clawed glove seemed to give off black bubbles as he spun around and threw his hand down on the ground under the Mayor's feet. The floor began to crack and so did the Mayor's facade of strength.

Seconds before the ground caved in, Chat grabbed the Mayor's sash and clawed through the fabric, pulling it away from him as he jumped away dramatically as soon as the floor under the Mayor broke into a deep hole that trapped him at the bottom of it screaming and yelling.

Chat tossed the sash to Ladybug. A single yellow flower with a pink ribbon tied around it was pinned to the sash with the word "Daddy" written on the ribbon. Ladybug pulled it off of the sash unceremoniously and crushed it under her foot. The black butterfly floated up just as she'd expected and within seconds, she had captured and released it.

"Bye bye petite papillon!" she said in her cute way that brought a smile to Chat's face as he looked on from the side. "Miraculous Ladybug!" The fire extinguisher flew in the air for a moment before erupting into a loveliness of ladybugs that swarmed through the city, putting the Mayor back on the floor with the streets of Paris returned to their normal, unbroken state, and the people who had been recently covered in the fire extinguisher found themselves suddenly cleaned and dry.

"Bien joue!" Chat and Ladybug fist-bumped, grinning.

They paused for a second as they watched the civilians get to their feet and hug each other, just glad to be safe again.

"Wait..." Ladybug said. "I can't find Adrien in that crowd!"

Chat's eyes widened. "I'm sure he's fine! He's probably gone home already to make sure his dad knows he's alright." He looked over the crowd himself. "But I can swear I heard Marinette when I was in there..."

Ladybug's eyes filled with panic as she stuttered, "I- I mean sh-she's probably done that t-too, I mean, it seems like h-her family's pretty caring too so sh-she wants to make sure they know she's f-fine."

"You sound a little nervous there my Lady..." Chat said, getting a little bit closer, his eyes darting towards her lips. He jumped back in surprise when her earrings beeped in warning. "Uh oh, you don't have very long now."

"Crap!" Ladybug turned away from Chat. She smirked for a second and said over her shoulder, "I'll see you soon, kitty." Chat could barely put up his hand to wave goodbye before she had run off.

Ladybug yo-yo'd up to her own roof and jumped into her window just as she changed back into Marinette. She threw herself on the bed, chest heaving. Tikki flew out and eyed Marinette suspiciously.

"Why were you acting so weird around Chat Noir today?"

"Acting how?" Marinette asked.

"Almost like how you act around Adrien!" Tikki said.

Marinette scoffed. "Oh come on, that's not at all how I sounded." She sat up. "I didn't, right?"

Tikki put her hands up. "Don't look at me." She started to say something when Marinette's phone buzzed again.

"Oh!" Marinette picked up her phone and saw the dozens of texts she'd missed. "Oh my god, he's been texting me like crazy."

_ AA: a lot of what i say doesn't really make sense. _

_ AA: whoa, hey did you hear that scream from where you are? _

_ AA: crap, are you okay mademoiselle? _

_ AA: mademoiselle??? Hello??? _

_ AA: oh crap someone's calling my name like crazy and they don't sound very nice. _

_ AA: IT'S THE MAYOR _

_ AA: WHY IS HTE MAYOR CHASIGN ME _

_ AA: MADMEOISLLE PLEASE TEL ME YOU'RE OKYA _

_ AA: he's goiggn to get me mademoiselel _

_ AA: i'm terrifeid _

_ AA: i'm runnign and typiung and i don't think it's wrokign _

_ AA: i don't hvae hte time to defend myself _

_ AA: CRAP _

_ AA: i wish i coudl meet you before i die though _

_ AA: what am i sayingn ladybug will save me, rithg? _

_ AA: i can't run anyomre crap i'm too tired _

_ AA: goodbye mademo _

There was a pause of about the half an hour between those set of texts and the one that had just come in.

_ AA: i'm okay _

_ MDC: Oh my goodness im so sorry i wasnt able to help u _

_ MDC: I saw all of that stuff happening _

_ MDC: I was caught for a little bit too _

_ AA: we were in the same cloud together? _

_ AA: oh my god, we might've seen each other! _

_ MDC: Wow yeah thats a possibility _

_ AA: are you okay though? _

_ MDC: Yeah _

_ MDC: Yeah im fine _

_ MDC: Ladybug and chat noir to the rescue as usual, right? _

_ AA: yeah they took a while, but they always seem to come through. _

_ MDC: Im just so glad ur alright _

_ MDC: I may have only known u for less than a week but i cant imagine u getting hurt or worse _

_ AA: me too. _

_ AA: for you, i mean. _

_ AA: i know i can get hurt and deal with it. _

_ AA: i'm not sure i'd be able to deal with it if you got hurt. _

_ MDC: Just _

_ MDC: Just dont die please _

_ AA: i won't if you don't. _

_ AA: pinky promise? _

_ MDC: Pinky promise _


	6. Chapter 6

_AA: good morning mademoiselle!_

_MDC: Godfd mormrnign_

_AA: uh oh._

_AA: did i wake you, my lady?_

_MDC: IM UP_

_MDC: U called me "my lady"?_

_AA: oh should i not do that? i wasn't sure if you'd like that or not..._

_MDC: Nonononono ur good_

_MDC: Its just that only one other person calls me that and it felt like him when you said that_

_AA: oh really? is it the someone you said you love?_

_MDC: Oh no this guys a dork_

_MDC: But hes very important to me so i let him do what he wants_

_AA: you seem like a good friend mademoiselle._

_MDC: And u are a good friend monsieur_

_MDC: Oh CRAP I OVERSLEPT_

_MDC: IM GONNA BE LATE ILL TEXT U WHNE I GET TO SCHOOL_

_AA: so you're still in school?_

_AA: you sure do drop a whole lot of hints about your identity for someone so intent on protecting it._

Marinette's sleepiness vanished the second her tired eyes floated up to the time at the top of her phone. She was to supposed to have met Alya to walk to school together almost half an hour ago!

Letting out a string of curses, Marinette leapt out of bed and threw on her usual t-shirt and jacket, grabbing her tiny purse and chucking a couple of cookies in for Tikki (not noticing Tikki scream and duck out of the way from inside the purse). Within minutes, she was downstairs and sprinting towards the school, her eyes scanning the streets for the familiar dyed red hair of her best friend.

Being so distracted made it easy to not notice the boy standing right in front of her until she crashed right into him in the middle of the street, spilling them onto the gound.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" Marinette blurted, lying on the road, frozen with embarrassment. It only got worse when she realized who she had run into.

Adrien stood up and offered Marinette a hand. Marinette simply stared at it blankly, unsure what to do. Finally, her wits came back to her and she grabbed it as fast as she could, giving him a shock.

"Wow Marinette," Adrien said, looking at their hands. "Quite the grip you got there."

"Sorry!" Marinette squeaked, letting go of his hand suddenly. "I'm really s-sorry about the whole bumping into you thing, I'm running a bit l-late and I guess I just panicked and kept running and oh dear I'm really sorry."

Adrien chuckled, taking Marinette's hands and holding them up in between the two of them gently to calm her down. It shockingly didn't really do much to calm her down but did help in turning her face as bright as her Ladybug costume.

"No need to apologize Marinette, I was staring at my phone when I should've been looking around me." Adrien let go of one of her hands and wove his fingers together with her other hand. "Let's get out of the middle of the road though."

Marinette could barely hear the drivers around her cursing and telling her to get out of the way. How could she when Adrien Agreste was holding her hand?

"You do have to walk for that, you know," Adrien said teasingly, a smile playing at his lips.

"Oh god he's cute," Marinette whispered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

Marinette walked forward in a haze, her eyes unable to leave Adrien's face as she enjoyed the feeling of his hand interlocked in hers. She would've loved the road to have been a bit longer, but she was more than happy with the fact that she got to hold his hand at all.

"I gotta ask though," Adrien said, breaking through her trance. "Are those a new fashion thing?"

Marinette looked down at what he was gesturing towards and felt the blood rush to her face. She had forgotten to change out of her pajama pants. Instead of her normal pink jeans, she was wearing fuzzy polka dotted red and black pants, the same ones that Alya had gotten her for her birthday.

"Oh no," Marinette groaned.

"You'd think I'd be up to date with fashion things what with being a model and all but Marinette, you're definitely ahead of me!" Adrien pulled her closer and tangled his arm with hers, still holding onto her hand. "Gotta say though, Ladybug's polka dots sure do suit you well."

Try as she might, Marinette couldn't come up with a response to save her life. For Pete's sake, she could jump around on the rooftops of Paris with ease but Adrien was the thing that left her speechless? She would've yelled at herself if she didn't feel like her brain had short-circuited the second her hand had touched Adrien's.

"Don't you normally walk to school with Alya?" Adrien asked, looking around.

"Yeah," Marinette managed. She cleared her throat and shook her head before continuing. "I'm guessing she went on without me when I got late." Marinette was very much aware of the warmth of Adrien up against her. "Wh-what about Nino? Don't you two usually walk together?"

"Yeah but he said he was gonna go a little earlier today, dunno why." Adrien was looking straight ahead and Marinette couldn't have been happier that he wasn't seeing her gazing at him with the same expression as one would have while stargazing.

Oh, how she wished the walk to school could've been longer but the second they stepped onto the stairs that led up to the gates of the school, Adrien released her hand and jumped on ahead of, bouncing up the stairs with the energy of a puppy while Marinette trailed along behind him, unable to take her eyes off of his blonde mop of hair. She was so preoccupied watching his hair move, she didn't notice him whip out his phone just before going through the gates.

_AA: manage to make it to school on time today?_

_MDC: Oh just barely_

_MDC: Although i really shouldve taken my time getting here im a mess right now_

_AA: i'm sure you're beautiful, my lady._

_MDC: Ur awfully flirty today aint ya_

_AA: no not flirty._

_AA: happy!_

_AA: ever since i've been talking to you mademoiselle, i've felt inexplicably happy._

_MDC: Is that bc of me?_

_AA: well correlation doesn't always equal causation._

_AA: but to answer your question, yes_

_AA: it's all because of you._

_MDC: Omg_

_AA: what do you mean by that?_

_MDC: Just_

_MDC: Omg_

_AA: well at least tell me if it's a good omg._

_MDC: Its a v good omg_

_MDC: V v good omg_

_AA: heheh well that's good to hear._

_AA: er, *read._

_AA: oh, uh oh, gotta go! class is gonna start any second now!_

_AA: a tout à l'heure mademoiselle <3 _

_DMC: Heh à bientôt à toi aussi monsieur <3 _

With that last message, Marinette barely even noticed Chloe's teasing of her pants or Alya's explanation of how she walked to school with Nino because he actually showed up when Marinette was meant to. Only two things floated around in her head; the warmth of Adrien's hands and the way the heart sent from the mystery monsieur made her own heart flutter.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff from what happened on the other side of that last chapter!

"I swear to God Mari, if you are late today, I'm leaving you behind," Alya muttered, pacing back and forth on the street across from the bakery. "I do not have the patience for your crap today." She stabbed out a frustrated text on her phone, hoping that the notification would wake Marinette up so that she wouldn't have to go there and wake her friend up herself. 

A tap on the shoulder made her jump up suddenly, flipping around, ready to sock whoever it was before she recognized the hat and the headphones around Nino's neck.

"Oh my god Nino," Alya sighed. "You scared the crap out of me."

Nino chuckled nervously, a hand going to the back of his head. "Oops, sorry."

Alya shook her head and laughed. "It's fine. Do you need anything?"

Nino's eyes widened a little. "Oh no! I just- well, I saw you here all alone and I thought, that um, well, a-a nice girl like you shouldn't be alone in the streets of Paris what with all the crazy villains running around like, like maniacs and I thought maybe I could keep you c-company and-"

Alya's giggles cut him off. She put up one hand on her chest and the other up to tell him to give her a second to breathe before saying, "Oh I'm so sorry Nino, I just, oh you're so cute when you babble like that."

"I'm..." Nino froze. "Cute?"

Alya stood up straight quickly, panic in her eyes. "Oh crap. Did I really just say that out loud?"

Silence filled the air between the two before Nino cracked a grin. "You think I'm cute!"

"No!" Alya exclaimed, then shook her head. "Wait, no, yes! I don't mean you're not cute, but I don't think you're cute like in the I'd date you way but I'm sure girls think that I just think you're an attractive boy and I guess you're cute to people in that way, but I don't mean that I... I think..." Nino's stupid smile as he watched her made her trail off as she felt her face grow hot. "Crap," she said, putting her face in her hands.

Nino stepped closer. "So, you definitely think I'm cute?"

Alya cursed out loud before raising her head. "For the record, I've said nothing." Finally she smiled and broke into laughter. "Yes, you're cute, you nerd."

"For the record," Nino said, still beaming. "You're cuter."

"Don't you usually walk to school with Adrien?" Alya asked, in a hurry to change the subject. "Where's he at?"

"I decided I'd leave early today," Nino said, avoiding eye contact. "Aaand take a different route."

"And why would you do that?"

"Because well... um," Nino's dark skin was turning a deep red. He cursed quietly before looking Alya in the eyes. "I kinda wanted to walk to school with you today."

Alya's framed eyes slowly became bigger. "Oh."

"I'll leave!" Nino said quickly. "I can go find Adrien, or walk alone! I don't mind that!"

"No!" Alya said as he turned around. When he looked back at her, she blushed and reached forward, taking his hand. "Walking to school with you sounds like fun."

"Oh," Nino said softly, a smile tugging at the sides of his lips. "Then, um, I guess we should go now."

"Yeah, I guess so," Alya said, smiling back at him.

They didn't realize Alya had left Marinette until they had reached the gates of the school.


	8. Chapter 8

Sleep had become secondary to the Mystery Monsieur and Mademoiselle as the two spent hours into the night staring at their brightly lit phone, typing away to each other. Both of them could feel the heaviness of their eyelids, the exhaustion in their bodies, but neither was ready to leave the other.

_ MDC: I cant believe how cool u r like i dont even know u but i cant stop talking to u _

_ AA: well, i'm certainly not complaining about you talking to me, princess. _

_ MDC: U use the cutest nicknames for me! _

_ AA: and you're the cutest person that deserves all the cute nicknames! _

_ MDC: Im not blushing what _

_ AA: heheh, i wish i could see that, but i guess i'll have to settle with imagining a cute smile on a cute girl. _

_ MDC: Dang ur smooth _

_ MDC: I got nothing against ur flirting wth _

_ AA: that's fine! i just enjoy hearing from you, knowing that you're enjoying my flirting! _

_ AA: :D _

_ AA: mademoiselle? where'd you go? _

Marinette hadn't gone anywhere, not yet. She had sat bolt upright, her eyes wide. "Tikki, is tonight a patrol night?"

Tikki looked up sleepily from her comfortable perch inside of Marinette's purse. "Oh dear, it is, isn't it?"

Marinette let out a squeak of panic before jumping to her feet and pulling Tikki out of the bag, cradling her in her hands gently. "Tikki, you awake?" Tikki sighed and got up, floating lazily in front of Marinette's face. "Transformez-moi!"

Ladybug leapt out of her room's window, yo-yo-ing her way to the neighboring roof. It was only once she was a few blocks away from home that she realized her phone was still in her hands. She slowed down as she typed, but continued moving.

_ MDC: Oh crap im so sorry! _

_ MDC: I forgot i had a thing to go to _

_ AA: it's completely fine, mademoiselle. _

_ AA: i'm waiting for someone so i can go to a thing as well. _

_ MDC: Is it a daaaaaate _

_ MDC: ;) _

_ AA: haha, if only it could be. _

_ AA: although it is that girl i mentioned previously. _

_ MDC: Dude just kiss her get it out of ur system _

_ AA: do you really think she'll appreciate that? _

_ MDC: Well ok idk ive never been kissed properly just to kiss someone _

_ MDC: That sounded a lot more complicated than i meant for it to sound _

_ AA: well, if it makes you feel any better, neither have i. _

_ AA: i mean, apparently i was kissed, but i don't remember it. _

_ MDC: U dont remember it? _

_ AA: long story for another day. _

_ AA: but do you seriously think i should just kiss her? _

_ MDC: I seriously think uve got way too much tension in u and itll probably break some of it _

_ MDC: But then again she might break some of ur bones _

_ MDC: Theres risks and rewards here man idk _

_ AA: ... _

_ AA: i have no idea what to do now. _

_ MDC: Good luck babe! _

A smile broke across Chat Noir's face as he read the word "babe" on his phone. She called him "babe"! That had to mean something, right?

Ladybug shoved her phone into her purse that hung at her hip as she approached Chat. "Texting your girlfriend?"

Chat Noir jumped up, fumbling his phone and barely catching it before it fell off the roof. "No, I'm not!" he exclaimed a little bit too indignantly. Ladybug couldn't help but notice the way that the streetlights from the ground dimly lit up the way his face was turning bright red. She didn't need the light to see the way his hands played with his phone nervously and the way he quickly hid it in between his belt and his outfit. He straightened up before flashing her a flirty smile that hid his embarrassment. "I mean, you'd know if I was texting my girlfriend, since you'd be the one getting my texts."

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "You're a dumb flirt sometimes, you know that?"

Chat Noir gave an exaggerated gasp. "Me? Never!" He grinned before stepping closer to her. "Unless you like my flirting, in which case, I'll do whatever keeps my lady happy."

Ladybug let out a short laugh as she rolled her eyes. "You do what you like, kitty."

"Well, princess," Chat Noir said, slinking closer to her until he was inches from her face. "I like you."

Ladybug wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of managing to get to her. "Chaton, did you forget we have a job to do?" She placed a finger on his chest and pushed him back gently. "Wanna finally get to work?"

Chat Noir put up his hands, stepping back. "That's fair, guess we'd better get to it." As Ladybug walked away, jumping to another roof, he watched from behind, a feeling of disappointment and self-hatred coming down on him hard, breaking through his smiling facade. He should've just kissed her, he had the chance! He had the chance and he let it slip past him.

The patrol was uneventful, something Ladybug was quite thankful for. Her limbs felt heavy as the night went on. Eventually, they reached the last rooftop for the night. She yawned loudly in front of Chat, her eyes fluttering closed.

"Someone's sleepy?" he asked, sitting down at the edge of the building's roof. His legs dangled over the edge as he patted the space next to him, gesturing to Ladybug to join him.

"I've been staying up late for a few days in a row," Ladybug said, her mind flitting to the late night conversations with the Mystery Monsieur. "I guess I'm finally starting to crash from all the sleep I wasn't getting."

Chat Noir nodded. "I've been doing the same. I'm surprised I haven't crashed yet, I'm usually really dependant on my sleep."

"Guess whatever kept you up must've been worth it."

"Oh yeah, she is," Chat said dreamily. When Ladybug looked at him with a surprised expression, he realized what he'd just said. "Oh! I meant  _ it  _ is, yes it is."

Ladybug scootched closer to him, leaning forward and resting her head on her hand, grinning at him. "You know you're going to have to explain yourself sooner or later, right? Sooner means now, later means after I force it out of you. Your choice."

Chat could feel the blood rushing to his face and he could feel the warmth of his phone against his side. "Do I really have to say it?"

"Oooohhhh!" Ladybug squealed. "You have a girlfriend!!"

"No, I don't!" Chat exclaimed. "She's just, well, she's nice and I guess I'd like her to be a girlfriend but no, that wouldn't work."

"Why not?"

Chat's fingers brushed against the warm metal of his phone. "I don't know that I love her. She reminds me of someone I do love though, someone I love very much."

"Okay," Ladybug said slowly. "And are you going to tell me who that is?"

Chat opened his mouth for a second, closed it, shook his head, and then shouted, "Oh screw it!"

Chat turned to face her, putting one hand on her face suddenly and pulling her face closer to his until their lips met. She didn't pull away. It felt like every part of his brain was throwing a party as he kissed her.

Finally, he let go of her and sat up straight, his mind racing at a hundred miles per hour. Next to him, Ladybug was very much aware of the phantom feeling of his lips on hers. She couldn't stop herself from touching her own lips, still shocked by what had just happened. Silence hung over them like a lead blanket.

"Oh," Ladybug mumbled, breaking through the quiet.

"Yeah," Chat breathed. He looked at her, and she raised her eyes up to meet his. "I'm sorry, was that okay with you?"

"I-" Ladybug could feel a tightness in her chest. "I don't know."

Chat Noir sighed. "I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking, that was probably really weird and I ju-"

Ladybug's lips pressed against his again cut him off. His eyes were wide open for a second before he relaxed, enjoying the feeling of the kiss as his eyes fluttered close and he snaked an arm around her waist pulling her closer.

When they finally broke the kiss, the silence surrounded them again. Ladybug's brain felt like it'd just short-circuited. Thoughts buzzed around her head but not one was coherent enough for her to consider. Instead, she just sat there unmoving, her mouth hanging slightly open.

"Well, we finished the patrol!" Chat said in a voice that was a little too high-pitched, getting to his feet a little too quickly. "I should get home!"

"Yeah," Ladybug whispered. Louder, she repeated, "Yeah!" She took Chat's hand and pulled herself up, unable to meet his eyes. "I'll get back and get some sleep too, I guess."

She didn't get any sleep that night. Marinette just stared at the ceiling, touching her lips and remembering the sensation of Chat's kiss. She never wanted to lose that feeling. A few blocks away, Adrien too lay in his huge bed, unable to stop himself from beaming and grinning, feeling the happiest he'd ever felt in his entire life.


	9. Chapter 9

Adrien awoke with a flurry of mixed feeling running through his head. On one hand he'd just kissed Ladybug! He had kissed the girl he'd been in love with ever since he'd met her! But on the other hand, a sense of guilt weighed in him every time he looked at his phone, thinking to text the Mystery Mademoiselle, but not being able to work up the courage to even say hello. What could he say?

But why was he so conflicted? He loved Ladybug, and unless the Mystery Mademoiselle was Ladybug, it shouldn't matter to him so much. And it didn't! Of course it didn't matter.

He didn't text her.

Marinette stared at her ceiling for hours, since she didn't sleep the entire night. She kept hoping her phone would buzz and light up the ceiling and distract her from the way Chat's lips tasted. But that didn't happen. She just stared at a ceiling shrouded in darkness the entire night. She thought that maybe she should send a text to Mystery Monsieur, but something in her kept telling her not to, reminding her of the way she had pulled Chat to her.

She felt like she'd betrayed two people: Adrien  _ and _ Mystery Monsieur. But she didn't love the Mystery Monsieur like she loved Adrien, and it wasn't like Adrien loved her, so how could it be a betrayal if there was no relationship to betray in the first place?

She hoped he would text.

"Girl!" Alya burst into Marinette's room, making her scream and fall out of her bed in surprise. She jumped up to her feet, giving Alya a look that asked what the heck was going on. "You won't believe what happened!"

Marinette sat back on her bed, sighing as Alya jumped on to the bed next to her. "What happened?" she asked, exasperated. She only just realized how much of a toll staying awake all night was taking on her.

"Chat Noir! Ladybug!" Marinette's eyes widened. "You won't believe it!"

Marinette's fingers instinctively went to her lips. "Oh?"

"They kissed!" Alya squealed.

"Oh," Marinette said, obviously unexcited. 

Alya frowned. "Marinette, are you okay? You look like crap."

"I..." Marinette leaned on Alya's shoulder. "I don't know what to feel."

"What happened?" Alya lifted Marinette's head off of her and held her face in her hands in front of her own. "Come on, you can tell me."

"No, I can't," Marinette whispered.

"What's that?" Alya asked. Marinette shook her head quickly and turned away from Alya.

"Sorry, I just... I feel sick, I didn't sleep all night."

"Girl, you need your sleep," Alya rolled her eyes and slung an arm around Marinette's shoulders. "You never turn in any homework, so what were you doing all last night?"

A flash of Chat's wide green eyes when she met his lips crossed her mind and she let out a short squeak and jumped up. "I was, um, I was..."

Alya narrowed her eyes at Marinette as she continued to stumble through her words, pacing back and forth in her small room. "You can stop trying to come up with a lie. I'm your best friend, you dumbhead." She took a hold of Marinette's hand, stopping her in her tracks. "What in the heck is up with you?"

Marinette's brain was racing and it was visible on her face as she pretended to calm down and take a deep breath. "It's nothing, I promise."

"Mari..." Alya said, pulling her closer. "You can't lie to your best friend."

The irony nearly made Marinette laugh as she thought of all of her wild escapades in her red and black spotted suit that Alya still knew nothing of. "I..." Marinette sighed. "I met with someone last night."

Alya's eyes widened as her mouth dropped. " _ Girl _ ! I need all of the details!  _ Now _ !"

Marinette pulled away from Alya, hiding her face as she giggled, "See? This is why I don't tell you things!"

"Wait..." Alya gasped. "Was it the Mystery Monsieur guy?"

Marinette rushed over to her, thrusting a finger on her lips to shut her up, praying her parents downstairs didn't hear Alya's excited screech. "Yeah, sure, okay, yes. I met with him." She was suddenly very aware of the weight of her phone in the purse that hung at her side as she stepped back from Alya, trying to build more of this lie in her head as the words slipped out of her mouth. "He was very sweet, and attractive, and--"

"Did you guys hold hands? Did you kiss? Was he tall? Wait, what about Adrien?"

Marinette held up her hands to stop Alya's rapid fire questions. "Yes, we held hands, and yes we kissed. And I don't know, I don't think he was very tall. And that's what I'm worried about. What about Adrien?"

For once, Alya was struck speechless.

"Okay, I'm gonna let you sit there with that stupid expression on your face while I go get my stuff ready for school," Marinette said after a few strained moments of silence. 

"Mari..." Alya whispered as Marinette grabbed her bag. "Mari, I wanna meet this boy, I wanna make sure he's good enough for you to drop Adrien for him."

Marinette's chest tightened as she felt the lie crumbling underneath her. "Um, I never... uh... I never said anything about dropping Adrien for him."

"Girl, you kissed him. You haven't gone that far with Adrien. He's obviously something special."

Marinette's mind searched frantically for a way out of this situation but on the outside, Marinette looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Which, it could be argued, was exactly what she was; caught in the headlights of her own lie. 

"I'll talk to him," Marinette muttered finally, unable to find any other way out of this. Alya squealed in excitement, taking Marinette's hands and jumping up and down with her. "You've gotta promise to be cool! Or I'll just cancel it!"

Alya grabbed her ears, grinning as she said, "Yes, yes, yes! I promise I'll be cool!" Marinette rolled her eyes, prompting more ecstatic squeals and hugs from Alya as she threw herself onto Marinette.

It was only about ten minutes later, after listening to Alya talk about how happy she was about meeting Marinette's new boy and finally pushing her out of the room, when Marinette was able to pick up her phone. She took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to explain this entire disaster to him. 

 

_ MDC: Hey... _

_ AA: oh, hello there! _

_ AA: i was thinking about you! _

_ MDC: Oh jeez u were? _

_ MDC: Goddangit _

_ MDC: Wait that sounds so rude im sorry _

_ MDC: Ive got a LOT to explain im so sorry _

_ AA: um. _

_ AA: i'm worried. _

_ AA: should i be worried? _

_ MDC: Maybe _

_ MDC: Idk what to tell u tbh _

_ MDC: CRAP _

_ AA: okay, yeah, i'm very worried. _

_ AA: what's going on, princess? _

_ MDC: Ok first of all ur rly cute with all that callin me princess and everything _

_ AA: oh! _

_ AA: that's not too worrying, i'm glad you like that! _

_ MDC: I mean _

_ MDC: Dont do that _

_ AA: um. _

_ AA: alright. _

_ AA: can i ask why? _

_ MDC: Bc i might be starting to like you and i cant do that bc u have someone u like and i should be sticking to the boy im hopelessly in love with even if i dont have any chance with him _

 

Marinette stared at her phone. Oh good god had she really just told him that she liked him? Why did she press send? Was there any way to unsend this? Oh no, oh no, oh no!

A little ways away, Adrien had come to a sudden stop in the middle of the sidewalk, phone in his hand. Nino kept walking and talking about his new mix, headed for school, but Adrien was rooted to the spot, his eyes reading over those same words again and again and again. 

"She might be starting to like me," he whispered. The guilt that had been building up in his chest was starting to overwhelm him. "Oh crap, she might be starting to like me!"

Nino turned around, noticing how far behind his friend was. "Hey, pretty boy! Come on, we're going to be late!"

Adrien started moving forward, but his brain was barely functioning as he put one foot in front of the other. The only words repeating in his head were, "She might be starting to like me." It was a little while later when he finally managed to tap out a response to his Mystery Mademoiselle. 

 

_ AA: i might be starting to like you too. _

_ AA: and i don't know if that was the right thing to say. _

_ AA: because i kind of... _

_ AA: well, i kind of kissed someone yesterday. _

 

Marinette was the one that came to a screeching halt this time, still feeling the phantom of Chat's lips on hers as she read the texts Mystery Monsieur had just sent. He kissed someone. Maybe it'd be okay then. If she had feelings for both him and Adrien, and she had kissed Chat. Why did she even do that? It wasn't like... She couldn't have... No, it's not possible to get feelings for three separate people, that's just not right.

 

_ AA: mystery mademoiselle? _

_ AA: you okay over there? _

_ MDC: Ya! _

_ MDC: Ya sorry the thing is i kinda sorta kissed someone yesterday too _

_ MDC: But um _

_ MDC: Thats not the reason im texting u now _

_ MDC: I uh _

_ MDC: I kinda got myself stuck in this whole mess of lies _

_ AA: oh dear, what's going on? _

_ MDC: I told my bff that i kissed u not the person that i actually kissed _

_ AA: oh. _

_ AA: well, i sure wouldn't mind if that was true. _

 

Marinette stifled a squeak of excitement, forcing herself to keep typing.

 

_ MDC: Ok no u dont get it _

_ MDC: She wants to meet u and like make sure that ur good for me or w/e _

_ MDC: She thinks weve met and she wants to meet u 2 do u see the problem here _

_ AA: i mean if you don't want to throw your original rules out the window, we could say that i'm sick and i can't meet anyone? _

_ AA: or maybe i'm terrified of people, so i wouldn't be able to handle meeting her! _

_ MDC: If u were sick id be sick bc i supposedly made out with u _

_ MDC: And if u were able to meet me u obviously werent scared enough to get out of meeting Alya _

_ AA: whoa, wait. _

_ AA: alya? _

_ AA: like alya césaire? _

_ MDC: WHAT _

_ MDC: NO _

_ MDC: That was  _

_ MDC: A typo _

_ MDC: I meant mon amie _

_ MDC: Bc she is my friend _

_ AA: ... _

_ AA: sure, okay. _

 

To himself, Adrien couldn't help but grin at how terrible of a liar Mystery Mademoiselle was, even through text. Alya was her best, he was sure of it. He might even know her. All he had to figure out now was who considered Alya to be their best friend. Across the street, he could see Alya dragging Marinette by the arm as she continued to type away on her cell phone. 

Who could Mystery Mademoiselle be? 

 

_ MDC: Sorry thumbs slipped i dont kno anyone named alya _

_ MDC: Nope no alyas in my life _

_ MDC: Anyways point is i have no idea how to get out of this help me _

_ AA: hm... _

_ AA: let's give "not-alya" what she wants. _

_ AA: i do want to meet you, here's our excuse to do so! _

_ MDC: Wait srsly _

_ MDC: R we gonna do this _

_ AA: i mean, why not? what's stopping us? _

_ MDC: The whole stranger danger thing?? _

_ MDC: The fact that u might be a murderer or smthing idk? _

_ AA: yeah, i might be a murderer that you might be starting to like, remember? _

_ AA: if you're starting to like me and if i'm starting to like you, there's gotta be a reason. even if we both kissed someone else last night, we should meet and we should figure out what this means. _

_ MDC: Crap _

_ MDC: Ur right _

_ MDC: Ok _

_ MDC: Looks like we r gonna meet _

_ AA: looks like it. _

 

Adrien pocketed his phone at the same time Marinette entered the classroom, clutching her phone as if her entire life was in it and her face had broken into a huge grin as she bounded up to her seat just behind him. He turned to talk to her, but he froze. Watching her chatter excitedly to Alya next to her made Adrien sit up straighter.

"Oh my god," he whispered.

Nino turned to look at him. "Huh? What was that, man?"

Adrien didn't respond. All he could do was stare at Marinette's head with his mouth hanging open. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry I'm so late with this, I'm terrible at fighting writer's block. Also, for the ending of this chapter, you can blame my boy for making it go the way it did. I had no plans but to keep writing and when I worked with him, that's where it went! There'll probably be only a couple more chapters of this, but for those of you that have read and enjoyed this, thank you!!!

_ A: hey. _

_ AA: um. _

_ AA: when did you say we'd meet? _

_ MDC: Idk man i mean whenever we get the chance _

_ MDC: I figure ur probably busy out kissing girls or w/e _

_ AA: don't be jealous! :P _

_ MDC: Who said i was jealous lol _

_ MDC: But hey i do wanna know more about this kiss n this girl _

_ MDC: Spill _

_ AA: she's a special someone i've loved for a while. _

_ AA: man, she's so talented and beautiful, and i just wish i could know her more than the few fleeting moments we get together before she has to run off. _

_ AA: she's got the most beautiful dark hair, and she's so mysterious but that's what gives her that charm. _

_ AA: a lucky charm! _

_ MDC: ... _

_ MDC: R u describing ur girl or ladybug here _

_ MDC: Bc i see ladybug when u talk about her _

_ AA: ladybug? _

_ AA: what? _

_ AA: no! _

_ AA: not at all! _

_ AA: i don't think ladybug kisses anyone! _

_ AA: ladybug's too cool to kiss me! _

_ AA: ... _

_ AA: okay, i don't know how to lie. _

_ MDC: OMG _

_ MDC: U KISSED LADYBUG _

_ MDC: OMGOMGOMGOMG _

 

Marinette could feel her face growing hot as she texted furiously, hiding her phone under her desk to make sure that Madame Bustier didn't catch her. She didn't realize that Adrien, sitting in front of her, was acutely aware of every tap her fingers made on her phone, and that he was doing the same in order to text her back.

But Marinette was too distracted to pay attention to Adrien right now. She'd just discovered who she had been texting this entire time. It didn't make any sense at first, but as she scrolled through her conversation from before, the pieces suddenly began to fall together.

A girl he loved: Ladybug.

A girl he kissed: Ladybug.

That time he got trapped in the cloud and the way he knew what Ladybug was doing when she was saving the city. He was Chat Noir. 

"Oh no," Marinette whispered. Adrien sat up slightly, trying very hard not to turn around and look into his Mystery Mademoiselle's face. He felt the embarrassment beginning to creep up into his face.

 

_ AA: hey, you sure you're not jealous? _

_ AA: because i know we were talking about having feelings for each other. _

_ AA: and just because i may or may not have kissed ladybug, i don't want to lose you. _

_ AA: plus, let's be real, i don't think ladybug's ever going to let me kiss her again. _

_ MDC: Ya that time was probably just a lapse in judgement _

_ AA: excuse me? _

_ MDC: I mean _

_ MDC: Ok i dont know what i mean _

_ MDC: Im sorry im trying to sort things out in my head _

_ MDC: God that was such a crappy thing to say im so sorry _

_ AA: it really was. _

 

Marinette stared at her phone, hoping he'd say something else to forgive her, feeling waves of self-hatred wash over her. Chat had been so happy about kissing her, who was she to ruin that?

Well, okay, she was Ladybug, the one that had been kissed. But still!

 

_ MDC: Look im really sorry i didnt mean to say that that was stupid _

_ MDC: Im sure she loved kissing u or w/e u seem like a kissable dude _

_ AA: well, you can test that out yourself one day if you'd like. _

_ AA: ;D _

 

Marinette let out a sigh of relief. He wasn't angry, he was just being the flirty dork that Chat always was. She preferred this over making him upset any day. 

 

_ MDC: Oh crap we might have to if alya gets us to meet up _

_ MDC: She wont believe me saying we kissed unless we kiss in front of her again _

_ AA: i... _

_ AA: i don't know if i'm super comfortable with that. _

_ MDC: U just told me to kiss u? _

_ MDC: Im sorry im confused _

_ AA: well, i just kissed ladybug, i dunno if it's right to kiss someone else so suddenly. _

 

Adrien was clearly lying through his texts, but Marinette didn't know that. What Adrien was trying to figure out was if he could feel for Marinette what he thought he felt for the Mystery Mademoiselle. Even if they were the same person, it felt weird knowing that it was her. And even if he did feel the same for the two of them, what about Ladybug? Would she just be forgotten in all of this? What about their kiss yesterday?

 

_ MDC: Somethin feels different bout u _

_ MDC: U gud? _

_ AA: wonderful as always, princess! _

_ MDC: Adorable as well it seems :P _

_ AA: glad to hear you think so! _

_ AA: i've just. _

_ AA: got a lot of feelings. _

_ AA: that sounds so weird, i'm sorry. _

_ AA: there's a lot in my head that i'm trying to sort out. _

_ AA: do we... have to meet? _

 

Marinette felt her heart drop into her stomach as she read that text. Her face grew hot as she shakily typed the words, "No its fine". She stared at it for a second and then quickly erased it. The phone felt so heavy in her hands all of a sudden.

In front of her, Adrien felt as if his phone had suddenly become a hot lump of lead as he waited for Marinette to respond. He realized that the tapping he'd been hearing consistently had come to a stop. He turned ever so slightly to look up at Marinette.

Her shoulders were raised up, and she seemed to be trying to make herself appear to be smaller than she actually was. Her hands which held her phone conspicuously under the table were trembling, and for a second- just a second- she looked up. Her bright blue eyes made contact with his green eyes and they both widened in unison.

Marinette's face flushed as she looked into Adrien's concerned eyes. It felt as if he knew that she was feeling a lump trapped inside her throat. As if he knew that someone had just crushed her heart. As if he knew the turbulent feelings that were raging inside of her body, making her chest tight and her stomach turn.

"Bien! That's the end of class for now!" Madame Bustier announced as the bell rang and students rushed to pack their bags and escape. "Don't forget your readings- chapter 5 and 6 for tomorrow!"

Alya packed up her bag and tapped Marinette on the shoulder to get her attention, making her break eye contact with Adrien and let out a yelp of surprise.

"Girl, come on! We gots to get going!"

Marinette nodded and smiled. "Right, you're right. Sorry."

"I'll catch you outside, alright?" Marinette nodded again in response. Alya grinned and turned towards Nino in the aisle ahead. "Hey Nino, walk with me for a bit?"

Nino smiled a flustered smile and scratched the back of his head, a shade of deep red creeping into his cheeks. "Yeah man, sounds good."

Adrien felt his ears burning as he threw his books into his bag and turned towards Marinette. Words were swimming through his head but he had no idea which ones to use to speak to her. Nothing would make sense to say right now.

"Hi," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. Marinette continued sliding her books into her bag, obviously unaware of Adrien trying to speak to her. Adrien cleared his throat and spoke again, this time a little louder: "Marinette! Hey!"

Marinette's head shot up and her panicked eyes met his again. She could see so many emotions in those bright shimmering eyes of his but none of them made sense. There was concern, anticipation, confusion, and... admiration? No, that couldn't be right.

"Hi!" she replied in a voice that was just a little too high. She coughed and spoke again, in a voice that was much too deep now: "What's up?"

A smile cracked across Adrien's face. "I just wanted to... you know, talk. We're friends but we don't talk too much, and I, uh, well..."

"Yeah! You're right!"

Adrien sheepishly held a hand out to her. Marinette cautiously took it, her small fragile hand held in his larger and much less delicate hand. He led her down and out of the classroom, trying to find the words to say, knowing that there was a lot that needed to be said, but nothing seemed to be the right thing to say.

"I could hear you texting in class," he blurted.

Marinette's phone seemed to be burning a hole in her pocket. "Oh?" she replied, her voice rising to the ceiling. "I didn't realize it was so obvious, I'm sorry."

"No, no, no," Adrien said. "I was just paying attention, otherwise I wouldn't have noticed."

"You were... paying attention?"

"I mean, no!" Adrien grimaced. That wasn't right. Something he'd said wasn't right. He froze in place, and Marinette, still holding his hand, was jerked backwards. "Sorry, I'm, just... I'm trying to..." Adrien shook his head. "Oh screw it."

Marinette's entire body was filled with adrenaline as she saw Adrien close his eyes and lean forward and she was reminded of the way Chat had kissed her just last night. Logically, she knew that this was what she'd dreamed of forever, but her brain kicked into overdrive, making her push off of him and fall backwards on her butt. She scrambled back up as Adrien stumbled forward, only then realizing that the lips he was trying to kiss weren't where he thought they'd be.

"I have to go!" Marinette squeaked before turning and racing away as fast as she could. Adrien could feel something inside of him shattering as he watched her run.

Adrien moved back, letting his back hit the wall next to the classroom. He slid down against the wall, his knees folding up against his chest, hiding his face in his hands. How could he do that? She was horrified! He had completely misread the situation. He had made her uncomfortable, maybe even scared of him! That was the last thing he wanted to do but that was all he could do. That was all he was good for. He only knew how to ruin the relationships he made. His family was already broken and now one of the few friends he had was terrified and had literally just run from him. He was useless. He was terrible. He didn't deserve her.

A black and purple butterfly flew into the hallway. Adrien was too distracted to notice it. It wasn't until it had flown into his ring that he felt its presence.

"Hello... Chat Blanc. I am Le Papillon." The voice seemed to be speaking directly into his head. There was a hint of surprise in its tone when it said his name, soon replaced with a smug sort of satisfaction before it continued. "She doesn't deserve you. She can't see your love. What she will see is your anger. I can help you show her. In fact, I think we can help each other."

Adrien looked up, his eyes, once green, were now a deep dark purple all the way through, his teeth sharpened and shining a bright white. His clothes morphed into his Chat Noir costume but instead of his signature black leather suit, he was covered in the purest white. 

"Oui Papillon. I think we can."

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I've said in the past, writer's block is a monster that's practically impossible to overcome. But I did it! So here's another chapter, and I'm 100% not sorry. :D

Marinette could feel the guilt of rejecting Adrien weighing down on her. It didn't make sense, that was what she'd always wanted! So why then, did she always have to ruin everything good by letting her own panic get the best of her? Why was she like this?

"Girl! There you are! Finally!" Alya called, standing at the foot of the stairs up to the school. "I've been waiting for you  _ forever _ !" As Marinette drew closer, Alya was suddenly aware of the horrified and embarrassed look that was etched all over her face. "Oh god, what happened now?"

"Adri..." Marinette's throat was closed off and just saying his name was a struggle. "Adrien..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, Adrien. What happened with him?" Alya pulled Marinette close, throwing an arm around her shoulder.

"He..." Marinette couldn't seem to form words. Instead, her brain just replayed the last minute again and again in her head. Every time, she felt her heart grow heavier in her chest. "I..."

"Oh crap," Alya breathed, cutting Marinette off from a sentence she wasn't going to finish anyways. Alya's eyes were wide behind her glasses. Marinette could see the fear in her eyes and the reflection of... something white?

She whirled around to see Chat Noir, except it wasn't Chat Noir. No, it couldn't be him. Chat Noir was a black cat, that was literally his name. But this Chat had an outfit identical to Chat Noir's, but bathed in white instead. His eyes glowed purple instead of green as he perched up above the entrance to the school.

"Crap." Marinette felt Tikki squirming inside her bag as she slowly started to back up to run and find some place to transform.

Chat's purple eyes landed on her.

"Marinette!"

"Crap!" Marinette squeaked, before turning and running as fast as her legs would take her. She could hear Chat bounding behind her, but she kept running. She knew outrunning Chat as Marinette wouldn't work. Ladybug could barely stay ahead of him, but Marinette was useless.

A scream echoed in the street as Marinette's foot hit a crack in the road and she flew forward, her face and hands scraping the asphalt as she skidded ahead. She didn't see that Tikki's small red bag had flown off in the fall too. Tikki could see out of the bag but could only watch in horror as Chat pounced on Marinette, pinning her down to the street.

"Chat Noir, please! Stop!" Marinette cried, struggling to free herself from his grip. The more she struggled, the tighter he held her down.

"It's Chat Blanc, sweetheart," he said in a sickeningly sweet voice, leaning down closer till his face was inches from hers.

"Look, Chat, it's me. I've been texting you, I'm the girl you were talking to," Marinette confessed, feeling tears pricking at her eyes. She had been in dangerous situations but nothing so dire as this, with her teammate against her. "I'm the Mystery Mademoiselle, so please don't hurt me. You like me, you said you like me."

Chat Blanc didn't say anything. He only scowled and stood up abruptly, still clutching one of Marinette's arms by the wrist, dragging her up with him. The blood from her scrapes was starting to stain his costume, juxtaposing the deep red and pure white.

"What are you doing?" Marinette could see Alya running towards her from the corner of her eyes and she willed her to stop, to make sure she wouldn't get hurt, to keep her far from danger. "Please, just tell me what you want. I'll do what I can to help you."

"I want you. And I want Ladybug's miraculous. And I'm going to get both." Chat Blanc's voice was more serious than Marinette had ever heard him speak.

Alya was close enough to see Marinette turn towards her seconds before Chat Blanc lept into the air, pulling her with him as he bounded onto buildings and across streets from rooftop to rooftop, cradling a screaming Marinette against his chest.

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!" Alya moaned, not knowing what to do or say. Nino, breathless ran up to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Don't touch me!" she snapped, throwing his arm off of her before sprinting towards the bag that Marinette had left behind.

"Alya, wait up!" Nino cried, trying desperately to keep up with her.

"Shut up!" Alya kneeled down and picked up the light pink bag and could feel movement inside. "What the..."

Nino appeared behind her as she unclasped the bag and revealed Tikki hiding inside, her eyes wide. "What the heck is that thing?" Nino asked, leaning forward.

"I have to get to her!" Tikki squeaked. It didn't make sense protecting Ladybug's identity anymore when Ladybug herself was in danger. "I need to get to Marinette, please!"

Alya stared openmouthed at the little talking red toy in Marinette's bag. "What are you?"

"We don't have time for this!" Tikki cried. "Just get me to Marinette!"

Alya closed her mouth, feeling herself fill with determination. She nodded and turned to Nino. "Where's Adrien?"

"I have no idea, I was hoping you or Marinette knew."

Tikki looked down sadly. Alya didn't understand, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was Marinette. She needed to be safe. "Where is she?"

Tikki shrugged, inciting angry groans from Alya as she started to walk forward without a clue of where she was headed with Nino trying to keep up a few paces behind her.

Chat Blanc had reached the Eiffel Tower with Marinette in his arms. She was too terrified to speak. She was barely anything without Tikki, without her Ladybug powers and costume. She couldn't do anything.

"Ladybug will be able to see us from here." Chat Blanc placed her down on the ground and shouted, "Cataclysm!" He hit his hands on either side of the metal around her and bent it downwards, changing the shape of it. By the time she stood up, she was trapped in a metal cage.

"What are you doing with me? Why do you want me?" Marinette demanding, grabbing the metal bars and shaking them gently to try to test for any weaknesses that she could find.

"Are you really so bad at recognizing me?" Chat Blanc said narrowing those dark purple eyes at her. "I'm disappointed in you Marinette. I expected better."

"You're Chat Noir, I get it but--"

" _ Not Chat Noir! _ " he bellowed, making Marinette fall backwards, whimpering and trying not to cry. He took a deep breath before turning his purple eyes to her again, frighteningly calm. "Chat Blanc." He grinned, showing his sharpened teeth. "Or, I suppose you could call me something else." He moved his hair, pushing it back and his eyes momentarily became human's eyes, green eyes, filled with love and admiration as he looked at Marinette.

"Oh god," Marinette breathed. "Adrien?"

His eyes flipped back to purple and he shook his hair back to the way it was. "I prefer Chat Blanc."


End file.
